Kerr’s late KO gets boss Tommy over finish line

Tommy Wright praised his Saints side for winning a bruising battle with Motherwell to bounce back from their recent Old Firm batterings.

Jason Kerr’s stoppage- time header earned the Perth side a much-needed victory after a run of four defeats that started and ended with hammerings at the hands of Rangers and Celtic.

St Johnstone lost 5-1 at Ibrox and Cel tic h it them for si x at home last time out with a Betfred Cup loss to the Hoops and league defeat to Hearts inbetween.

But Kerr’s last-gasp header got them back to winning ways in a tough encounter in Lanarkshire that saw defender Liam Gordon play with a broken nose after he was caught by Ryan Bowman, and Joe Shaughnessy’s head bandaged.

David McMillan was also forced off after a Chris Cadden challenge and Wright said: “We knew what

Kerr headed home Liam Craig’s corner two minutes into injury time for only his second Saints goal after netting a consolation in a 4-1 defeat to Rangers last season.

He said: “I was surprised by the space I had. I’ll need to watch it again on TV because I don’t know who was supposed to be marking me and it was weird because their keeper didn’t come for it.

“I thought we were ramping up the pressure towards the end and it was great to score the winner.”

But it was a huge blow to the struggling Steelmen who have now lost five of their last six with a draw against Livingston their only point from that miserable run.

Motherwell desperately needed a lift going into the game and were